Maybe
by Topaki
Summary: Mike and Randy handle their first day of college in very different ways. Oneshot.


From the trailers that I've seen, Mike starts off as _extremely_ confident about becoming a scarer and Randy starts off as _extremely_ nervous. I wanted to write a story contrasting how the two characters might have approached their first day of college.

* * *

The ringing alarm clock quickly went silent and was followed almost immediately by the sound of an energetic leap out of bed.

"Rise and shine, buddy!" Mike Wazowski announced enthusiastically. "Today's the big day!"

It was the first day of college classes for Mike and his roommate Randy Boggs: a big day indeed. Randy slowly opened his eyes. As if on cue, the nervous thoughts that had been swimming around in his head when falling asleep the previous night immediately came rushing back.

The day that he'd been both waiting for and dreading had finally arrived, and Randy found himself even more anxious than usual. Feeling thoroughly nauseous, he stumbled his way into the bathroom and splashed some cold water from the tap onto his face, hoping it would restore his wits. It didn't.

"Yech…" Randy muttered in disgust as he grabbed a purple towel and wiped away the cold sweat that had broken out over his body. He applied his odorant under his four arms, making sure to put on much more than usual. On a day like this, however, he'd probably wind up sweating through it in no time regardless of how much he used.

After brushing his teeth, he'd exhausted all his morning rituals, leaving him with no more excuses to linger in the bathroom. Slowly, almost regretfully, Randy sulked back to the dorm room to collect his things for class.

Mike looked up from packing his knapsack and sniffed the air.

"Hmm…'low tide', right? Not a bad choice! Though I'm more of an 'old dumpster' man myself."

Randy couldn't help but chuckle at his roommate's demeanor, which, as of yet, had _not once _been anything other than cheerful and optimistic.

"I really don't get you, Mike. This is the most important day of our lives, and you're just…business as usual!"

"And why shouldn't I be? Today's important, all right, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"But Mike, what if we mess up?" asked Randy, sitting down on his bed and letting his head collapse into his uppermost hands. "What if we flunk out of college? What then?"

"Buddy, you gotta get yourself some confidence. Seriously!"

"It's just that…" Randy paused and let out a long sigh. "Getting into Monsters University is the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. Opportunities like this don't come around too often, and if I blow it, I doubt I'm gonna get another one…"

"I see…" replied Mike, furrowing his brow in thought. "Well, if you want a surefire strategy, you could always just follow my lead!"

"…Pardon?"

"I mean, my destiny is to be the world's greatest scarer, right? So as long as you do what I do, you'll be sure to do fine!"

"Mike, I'm being serious here…"

"So am I! Think about it…study with me whenever I study, work on your homework with me whenever I work on mine, and I'm sure you'll be okay. Just imagine it: we'll be a legendary team, Wazowski and Boggs! Working our way to the top of the scaring world, together! Graduating from MU with honors and becoming the best scarers Monsters Inc has ever seen!"

"You know, working together might not be a bad idea," replied Randy, smiling. "At the very least, some of that optimism might rub off on me."

"That's the spirit! C'mon, let's get to class!"

And with that, the two monsters were on their way to Scaring 101, with Randy feeling better than he'd felt in ages. He wasn't entirely sure about Mike's plan, but one thing was certain; he'd found a friend – and a very unique one at that – before his first college class had even started. That was more progress then his entire freshman year of high school.

A new friend: the first of many, maybe? And Scaring 101: maybe it would be the first in a long line of A+ grades he'd earn? For years he'd dreamt of finding happiness and success, and for once, the dream seemed within his grasp. Maybe things would finally be different at Monsters University.

For a few moments, Randy was on top of the world as he walked to class with his friend. But he soon found himself obsessing over one little word, and all of a sudden, he didn't feel quite so confident anymore.

_Maybe_.


End file.
